Community Outreach Associate- Region 8/10

Environmental Protection Network; Washington (District of Columbia); Remote; USD 59,962 - 73,287; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible work schedule

401K Retirement Plan with company match

Professional development allowances

Paid time off including federal holidays

Job summary

A nonprofit environmental organization is seeking a Community Outreach Associate. This role focuses on coordinating with partners, recruiting volunteers, and enhancing community support. Ideal candidates have remote work experience and strong organizational skills, especially related to environmental and social justice. The position offers a competitive salary and benefits, emphasizing the importance of community involvement and inclusivity.

Qualifications

• At least 1-2 years of relevant work experience.
• Highly productive in remote working environments.
• Interest in environmental justice and social justice.

Responsibilities

• Collaborating and coordinating with partners in assigned region.
• Tracking work in EPN’s database and Google spreadsheets.
• Building relationships with community leaders and agencies.

Skills

Organizational skills

Relationship-building skills

Problem-solving skills

Strong writing and communication skills

Detail-oriented

Bilingual abilities in English/Spanish

Tools

Canva

Google Docs

Google Spreadsheets

Job description

Community Outreach Associate- Region 8/10

Join to apply for the Community Outreach Associate- Region 8/10 role at Environmental Protection Network

Priority Application Deadline: Wednesday, September 10th

Background: The Environmental Protection Network (EPN) is a 501c3 non-profit organization with over a $5 million annual budget. EPN has a small staff across the country, a number of contractors, and more than 700 EPA alumni volunteers focused on building and defending the capacity of environmental agencies and the communities they serve to address the most urgent health and environmental crises. EPN works to:

• Ensure that EPA advances policies, budgets, and institutional changes to address climate and environmental injustices, as well as other pressing public health needs
• Provide pro bono capacity-building technical assistance and training to environmental justice communities, NGOs, and under-resourced state/local/tribal government agencies
• Educate Congress and serve as a critical resource for facts, objective analysis, and scientific rigor for reporters and NGOs

Over 4 years ago, EPN launched its pro bono capacity-building technical assistance program to fight climate change and environmental injustices across the country. Since then, EPN has connected over 200 experts from within its volunteer network—scientists, lawyers, economists, and others—to over 2,500 requests from disadvantaged communities; non-profit organizations; and under-resourced state, local, and tribal government agencies. EPN provides pro bono assistance on community-identified needs, including reviewing permits, teaching protocols for gathering water and ambient air samples, advising on critical next steps to achieve proper contamination remediation at Superfund sites, and more. EPN has helped communities receive over $700 million in federal grant awards.

This position requires the person to live in their currently assigned EPA region/s. Day-to-day work is remote, as EPN does not have an office. In addition, there are some in-person meetings and travel. We are looking for this position to start immediately.

About The Position:

Reporting to the Senior Director of Technical Assistance, the Community Outreach Associate-Region 8 & 10 will partner across the 10-person Technical Assistance Community Outreach Team. They will leverage their strong organizational skills and relationship-building skills, combined with environmental justice and/or social justice expertise, to meet the evolving needs of a growing environmental justice nonprofit.

The person who takes on this position must be located within one of the following states: AK, CO, ID, MT, ND, OR, SD, UT, WA, or WY. Day-to-day work is remote, as EPN does not have an office. In addition, there are some in-person meetings and travel. We are looking for this position to start immediately.

Responsibilities:

• Collaborating and coordinating with the partners in their assigned region/s.
• Assisting entities in identifying and applying to grant opportunities where relevant
• Recruiting and activating volunteers across their assigned region/s and our EPN network
• Tracking work in EPN’s database and various Google spreadsheets
• Tracking next steps for EPN staff, volunteers, and key partner organizations
• Connecting additional frontline communities, non-profits, and under-resourced government agencies (including tribes) with our volunteers for community-driven projects, including problem-solving meetings, research, reporting, and comprehensive actionable emails
• Connecting communities with additional technical, grant, legal, and scientific resources such as decision-makers within government, advocacy, and academia; federal and foundation grants; and pro bono legal support
• Scheduling meetings for communities, potential experts, and organizations
• Forming truly collaborative partnerships between community leaders and government agencies to ensure that communities’ voices are represented in infrastructure investments
• Growing individual and local partnerships to provide more holistic community support
• Producing webinars, trainings, templates (including grant templates), and other capacity-building tools so that additional communities can benefit from our work
• Traveling throughout the local EPA regions, and sometimes beyond
• Broadly sharing findings formally and informally
• Adhering to and meeting all goals and priorities outlined in the core expectations document
• Building Relationships: the community outreach associate will build strong, trust-based relationships with frontline communities, non-profits, under-resourced government agencies, and tribal organizations to understand their needs and co-create solutions
• Making Decisions & Demonstrating Judgment: prioritize community needs, ensure resources are allocated effectively, and balance immediate tasks with long-term goals; match volunteers and experts to projects; facilitate collaborative partnerships; connect communities with impactful resources
• Managing Execution: establish streamlined systems for tracking tasks and connecting communities with resources, volunteers, and experts for tailored community-driven support; build partnerships with local leaders, government agencies, and organizations; produce capacity-building tools like webinars and templates

Qualifications:

• At least 1-2 years of relevant work experience
• Highly productive in remote working environments
• Self-starter with problem-solving skills
• Interest or experience in environmental justice, US environmental and health policy, and/or the work of the EPA
• Experience with or knowledge of social justice and equity issues
• Strong writing and communication skills
• Experience with Canva or with other presentation-making tools
• Detail-oriented and unafraid to ask questions
• Ability to work independently, work on many different projects, and switch effectively from one task to another
• Experience working in collaborations or with multiple partners
• Strong work ethic
• Familiarity with Google Docs and Spreadsheets
• Bilingual abilities in English/Spanish are a plus

Pay:

• An annual salary of $66,625 based in D.C. We will adjust the salary up or down based on locality.

The Environmental Protection Network is a fully remote virtual environment. We think about our compensation as a package of total rewards that starts with a competitive salary.

Work-Life Balance:

• 40-hour work week with a flexible work schedule and core hours of 11 AM-4 PM ET.
• 11 paid Federal Holidays and other paid days when the office is closed (including the work day before or after July 4, the day after Thanksgiving, and the work days between December 25th and January 1)
• Organization-wide non-meeting days on all major holidays that fall outside of the federal calendar (our staff can submit these to our calendar based on religious or cultural holidays)
• 3 weeks (120 hours) of paid time off (inclusive of sick, personal days, and vacation)
• Competitive market-based salary
• Annual tenure bonus (determined annually where funds are available)
• Performance-based bonuses where applicable
• 401K Retirement Plan, 4% company match
• 80% employer-paid health, dental, and vision insurance, 50% employer-paid family
• 100% employer-paid life (50K), opportunity to purchase additional life coverage is available for the employee and spouse
• 100% employer-paid short and long-term disability insurance
• Access to employee-paid FSA, HSA, and commuter benefits
• Up to 6 weeks of paid leave upon the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child
• Up to $500/year for professional development-related expenses
• Ongoing access to internal professional development training

Additional Benefits:

• $150 monthly cell phone plan and home internet reimbursement
• Up to $2,000/year for the purchase of phones, computers, headsets, software, or other equipment used consistently to carry out staff responsibilities
• Applicable travel expenses, including travel time outside of your local area

Environmental injustices disproportionately impact the most marginalized people in society, including people of color, people from working-class backgrounds, women, and LGBTQIA+ people. Because we believe that these communities must be centered in the work we do, we strongly encourage applications from people with these identities or who are members of other marginalized communities.

Seniority level: Entry level

Employment type: Full-time

Job function: Information Technology

Industries: Wireless Services, Telecommunications, and Communications Equipment Manufacturing